How does an undergraduate become involved in research?
Undergraduate research is an independent study option that offers students the opportunity to conduct state-of-the-art scientific investigations under the supervision of a faculty member. The Department encourages all of its majors to participate in undergraduate research by enrolling in the appropriate course (CHE 99, 199 or 194H). You should first assess the areas of chemistry that most interest you from your course work. You can then compare your interests with the research being carried out by individual faculty, which is described on their web pages. After you have chosen one or more faculty whose research interests you, set up appointments with them to discuss doing undergraduate research in their group. Faculty sometimes prefer undergraduates to have completed relevant courses in the area of the research, but this is not always required. Also, it is generally recommended that students commit to several quarters of research with the same faculty member, since there is often a sig
